High school students protest cuts

Perkiomen Valley High School students stand on the baseball field and listen to classmates speak on the elimination of teaching positions at the school. Students walked out of morning classes in protest of the cutbacks. Photo by John Strickler The Mercury

Students walk out of school Friday to protest cuts at Perkiomen Valley High School.

COLLEGEVILLE – Hundreds of Perkiomen Valley High School students streamed out of the front doors of the school in a quiet wave Friday morning to protest proposed budget cuts that could mean several teachers would lose their jobs.

Despite threats of disciplinary action against the students by school officials, more than 550 participated in the walk out.

Alexa Monteleone spent the morning of her last day of high school on the baseball field taking a stand to try and save her mother’s job.

“It impacted me a lot. (My mom) has been here for so long and she has been so helpful to the school for the past 13 years,” she said about how she felt when she heard her mother could lose her job.

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Monteleone’s mother, Maureen, is a para-professional and wears many hats, according to her daughter.

“She is a computer aide, she helps with attendance in the morning and she is in the library,” Monteleone said. “It’s a job that keeps everything together in the school.”

According to Monteleone, her mother, several employees in the cafeteria, and teachers of core subjects - English, math and social studies - are all facing unemployment if the district decides to accept the proposed budget.

An online petition identified the teachers who may lose their jobs as math teacher Todd Speilman, English teacher Maureen Curcio and social studies teacher Ryan Hinkle.

Documents from the Perkiomen Valley School District indicated that cutting those jobs could save $171,000 for the 2014-15 school year.

Clifford Rogers said cutting teaching and support positions is the most difficult decision the district has made in an attempt to close the gaps in the budget.

“We are a part of the (Perkiomen Valley) family too,” said Rogers, who is the Superintendent of Schools, while he stood on a hill overlooking the baseball field.

Students lined the edge of the field before gathering in a big circle around the pitcher’s mound to share stories about being a “P.V. family” and talk about why they decided to demonstrate. Despite the mist and slightly chilly weather, most of the students wore black, short-sleeve T-shirts as a sign of solidarity.

Over the last eight years, Rogers said, the district has tried to cut expenses to close budget gaps. But as options thinned, tough choices had to be made.

“We have tried to keep across-the-board cuts to a minimum,” he said.

According to Rogers, a proposed budget needs to be submitted to Harrisburg by June 30. The finalized budget from the district will be ready around June 9, he said.

But even the potential of teacher layoffs has students and parents thinking about how the curriculum could change for the 2014-2015 school year.

The loss of teachers means academic and prep classes will be combined due to the lack of resources.

“Classes are going to be bigger ... It’s not fair to us. It’s not fair to (the teachers),” said Beré Coshin, a junior at the high school.

Coshin and fellow junior Alec Friel were in the parking lot selling black T-shirts emblazoned with “P.V. Strong. Support the teachers. Support the education,” from the trunk of a white sedan. A crowd of students gathered around them furiously finding cash in order to pay for their part in the demonstration.

Coshin’s statements were echoed by a mother who came to out in support of the students.

“Eliminating the academic track will increase all the class sizes and force kids who may not be ready to take college prep classes into those classrooms - which will make it harder for the teachers to teach,” she said. “It is budget; they don’t have a lot of choices. If they had other choices, they would take them.”

The mother, who wore a black shirt just like the students, did not want to be identified but said she supports her daughter who was out in the crowd.

“I’m very proud of my daughter,” she said. “She was worried about getting in trouble but I told her my husband and I completely support her.”

Although rumors were floating around the Facebook page about consequences being handed out to students who participated, Jessica Lester, the manager for school and community engagement for the district, said as long as the students returned to class in a “reasonable amount of time,” there would be no issues.

“I think it is impressive,” Lester said about the turnout. “We are certainly excited that (the students) are passionate about school and what is happening and that they are getting involved.”

Not only were administrators impressed with the turnout, student organizers and leaders were as well.

“Education is the foundation of our future and our teachers are the ones who facilitate that,” junior Cliff Culhane said.

Culhane stood in the center of the circle of students and used a mega phone to tell them they “should be proud we can link together as a family to represent an idea.”

Culhane spoke to students Thursday and told them that they are able to come together and “represent the existential good.”

“(Teachers) are worth all the effort I can put in,” Culhane said in an interview during the demonstration. “(Students) had the ability to come out and they linked across boundaries of cliques — across boundaries of stereotypes - and they are all working together in a cooperative unit and it is amazing.”

Around 10:30 a.m., students began filing back into the school according to Lester. She did say seven students stayed out which may prompt the school to take disciplinary action but Lester would not expand on what that action might be.